


Arabella in a Haileystorm

by Haunting_Blueberry



Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Crush, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Romance, Awkwardness, Community: lgbtfest, Drama & Romance, F/F, Female Homosexuality, Friendship/Love, Happy Ending, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm a sucker for attention, I'm a tagwhore so as many people who need this find it, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Female Character, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Character, No Lesbians Die, One Shot, POV Female Character, POV Lesbian Character, POV Original Female Character, POV Third Person, POV Third Person Limited, Romance, Secret Crush, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 06:58:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15189308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haunting_Blueberry/pseuds/Haunting_Blueberry
Summary: I originally wrote this story for a school exercise. My teacher recommended that I also post it on some online platform so that more people may read it, so here I am. (I've made some minor edits to the original work)Arabella has caught feelings towards her friend, Hailey. At last, the secret has become too much for her to bear. After a day full of unlikely events, Arabella is done. It's about time she does something about her feelings.





	Arabella in a Haileystorm

The bus bounced on the bumpy road. Arabella looked outside. She felt the anxiety build up in her chest. _We have sports today. Dancing. Mom didn’t believe me when I told her I wasn’t feeling well, so I’ll have to do this. I really don’t want to. I wonder if I could fall down badly and injure my leg_ , Arabella thought.

The image of a blond girl with blue eyes came on Arabella’s mind. She closed her eyes and imagined herself on a beach. There would be seagulls flying over the ocean. She would be laying on the sand, next to Hailey. She would pull Hailey closer and kiss her. _I bet your lips would be soft,_ she daydreamed.

Arabella opened her eyes and shook her head. _What am I thinking?! This can’t be real. I don’t have a crush on Hailey. Sure she is funny, intelligent and beautiful, and oh gods, her eyes are pretty… NO. This is not happening!_ Arabella thought. She rubbed her eyes and sighed. She couldn’t deny wanting to kiss her anymore. If it was a phase, it had lasted way too long for her liking.

“Heyyy!” Emily yelled. She threw her backpack next to Arabella’s feet and sat next to her, ignoring everyone gazing at them.

“Oh hey Em, I see you’re all hyped up…” Arabella said bitterly. _How on earth could Em be so hyper all the time_ , she wondered. Emily had her auburn hair on a French braid. Arabella looked at herself from the window. Her black hair wasn’t even brushed. She had gotten too anxious and forgotten all about personal hygiene.

Emily started talking about the latest season of Game of Thrones. Arabella would have loved to listen to her rambling, but Hailey’s face was the only thing on her mind. _Oh god, why is this happening to me? I just want to be normal. Why did my feelings betray me like this?_ Arabella thought as tears welled up in her eyes. She wiped them away before Emily could see.

 

___________

 

They got out of the bus and walked to the school. Arabella threw her jacket into a pile of clothing. Emily found a jacket rack. They sat on a bench next to the history class. Arabella stared at her hands. _These hands are going to have to hold a boy soon. I’ll have to be too close to them. Why can’t I just choose to dance with a girl_ , Arabella thought.

“Are you okay? You seem distracted as fuck” Emily asked with clear concern in her eyes.

"I’m okay, I guess. I didn’t sleep well though" Arabella shrugged. She didn’t lie entirely. She was too anxious to sleep well and ended up making embarrassing google searches at 3 am. _Crushes are supposed to be a good thing. I’m supposed to gush about this to Em but instead, I’m stuck in my own head. Why did I have to fall for a girl? It also just had to be my friend_ , Arabella thought.

Mr. Jefferson’s class was about what you’d expect, filled with conspiracy theories and the smell of cigarettes.

“I bet my kidney that he’s related to Alex Jones” Emily giggled. Anyone else would have been creeped out by her symbolism. Arabella was used to it though.

“Wouldn’t be surprised if he started talking about how Obama puts chemicals in the water that turn the frogs gay” Arabella whispered.

“Care to share what you two are speaking of?” Mr. Jefferson asked, tapping his cane on the wooden floor. One does not simply explain the memes to an old person, Arabella thought. Emily looked at Arabella with the eyes of a person who is on the edge of egging someone’s house.

“Oh, we were just marveling how intelligent Alex Jones is. We are big fans, you see” Emily said. You could easily see the inner struggle of try-not-to-burst-out-laughing on her face. “ah, I also find Mr. Alex Jones a likable soul, a legend even. Speaking of likable personalities, Leonardo Da Vinci…” Mr. Jefferson started speaking about The Renaissance. The class went on.

“Did you know that Da Vinci might have been a homosexual? He had an assistant called ‘Salai’ who is believed to his secret lover. He wrote about how intercourse between a man and a woman disgusted him in one of his journals. He was accused of homosexuality TWICE in the 16th century. The painting of Mona Lisa is also believed to be of Salai" Mr. Jefferson said.

Arabella had never paid that much attention in history before. Leonardo seemed like a cool dude before, but now I just want to sip tea and talk about gay shit with him, Arabella thought.

“It’s kinda cute what he did with The Mona Lisa. It’s like a love story. He had to paint his true love as a female just to keep himself safe. I can just imagine him laughing with Salai as commoners admire the gayest painting ever made” Emily said with wonder.

Arabella felt her face twisting into a wide smirk. _It makes me strangely happy to hear people talk about gay shit. It’s like ‘hey mom, look! It’s my people again!’ I’m like a dog when they see another dog,_ Arabella thought.

 

_______

 

Arabella walked to the German class on her own. Emily had handicrafts. Oh dear lord, she has German with me, Arabella thought. She saw Hailey leaning on the wall. Her blond hair was in a ponytail. She was wearing an oversized hoodie and black sweaters. _You may dress like a homeless dude, but I will still think you’re the most beautiful girl out there_ , Arabella thought.

“Heyy, meine Bella~” Hailey said as she wrapped her hands around Arabella’s waist in a playful manner. Arabella stuttered a greeting back. _Oh god cheeks don’t get all red and shit, I will not tolerate this kind of betrayal_ , Arabella thought.

“I swear the god I love German” Hailey said. Arabella felt the butterflies in her stomach go insane.

“At least one of us feels that way” Arabella laughed. Ahaha I’m gay...

Out of nowhere, Arabella started feeling strange and out of place. She could not understand a word the teacher said. Why does a German teacher have a French accent? Why are her glasses so big? Why did she have a crush on Hailey? Arabella only knew that the window seemed like a nice route out at that moment.

Hailey had to answer the teacher’s question. _Her accent is so cute. I just love the way words roll off from her tongue._ Oh Gods _, you are beautiful_ , Arabella thought as she zoned off into Hailey’s blue eyes.

“Watcha looking at?” Hailey asked with a wink. And so Arabella remembered why she is so embarrassingly in love with Hailey.

 _She’s smiling like she knows, oh if you only would know. I just want to be honest with you, it’s a shame it would end us though_ , Arabella thought as she looked away.

“Today our vocabulary is all about romance and friendship!” The teacher yelled in her French accent.

“How come a German teacher have a French accent?” Arabella laughed awkwardly. _I can’t believe that we have love as the theme today. Like what are the odds? Life is playing a joke on me. Maybe I can convince myself that I don’t like her. She is gorgeous and I’m just a mess. She could sweep anyone off their feet. She wouldn’t even think of me..._

“Ich liebe Dich” Hailey said gently.

“W-what did you just say?” Arabella asked. Her voice stuttered like she had never spoken before. She felt an earthquake in her stomach. Her heart was jumping on the clouds like a unicorn. She wasn’t good at German, but she understood what Hailey had said.

“We’re supposed to read shit out. You were truly lost in my eyes, weren’t you?” Hailey laughed.

 _I will just sit here and pretend that didn’t just happen. My crush did not just say Ich-_ liebe _-fucking-_ dich _to me. I did not get caught stargazing at her eyes. Mother nature smoked some weed and decided that this day was going to be a sad comedy show at my expense. Why am I the friend who has an awkward crush on a friend? Why couldn’t it be someone else? Why do I like girls while others are boy-crazy? I just want to disappear_ , Arabella thought.

 

______

 

“Today we’ll be talking about sexuality” Mrs. Smith said, slamming her books onto the table.

“You can’t be serious!” Arabella exclaimed, throwing her hands on her sides. She slammed her face into the pages of her book, groaning in absolute agony.

“What’s wrong? Emily asked, surprised by her sudden outburst.

_ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? REALLY. OH REALLY. WE’RE GONNA TALK ABOUT GAYNESS. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING. CAN THIS DAY JUST END ALREADY?_

The teacher went on and on about how different sexualities are natural and not to be ashamed of. Arabella was smiling throughout the entire class. There just was something special about hearing others talk about something meaningful to you.

 _It’s like I’m not invisible anymore. Being accepted like this makes me want to just sing Celine Dion to Hailey and say “Ich_ liebe dich _” to her. It’s like being queer is suddenly not-weird. Maybe I really should confess my feelings to her_ , Arabella thought. She couldn’t stop the ridiculous smile on her face.

“Miss me with that gay shit” Anton laughed with the boys.

“Bro, wanna marry me?” Julius asked mockingly.

 

“They’re fucking pathetic” Hailey cringed. Hailey turned to the boys and said:

“Joe Rogan once said that there are only two reasons to hate gay marriage;

1: You’re dumb or

2: You’re secretly afraid that dicks are delicious”

 

Arabella could almost see a rainbow shining out of her eyes. She could hear the obvious distaste in Hailey’s voice. She had wasted no time roasting them. _Why would she be so into it though? Most would have just ignored it and she went all out… Maybe I’m overthinking this_ , Arabella thought.

The boys laughed and whistled at them. Mrs. Smith couldn’t hold her giggle in. She clapped slowly and continued with the lesson.

 _But still, my dear Hailey, I cannot simply tell you how much that meant to me. It almost restored my faith in humanity. I think I can almost believe that we could be one day. You mean the world to me_ , Arabella thought.

They went to the school cafeteria after class. Hailey sat next to Arabella and Emily was across them. They were eating some lasagna. Arabella smiled at Emily. It was obvious that she was on the edge of going on a rant about bad school food. Arabella wanted to clap and salute her for her discretion.

“How was history?” Hailey asked.

“Alex Jones told us that Da Vinci was gay” Emily said with her mouth full of food. “That’s kinda cute, we confessed out undying love at German class” Hailey said smiling proudly. Emily raised her brows in surprise.

“Uhh, we had romance as the theme” Arabella tried to clear up. She drank water in an attempt to cover her cheeks which were getting suspiciously redder. Oh Jesus, I can just feel my cheeks getting hotter. You have to be kidding me. Are you doing this just to drive me insane? You just had to go on and say it in such a serious tone. Makes me almost believe it, Arabella thought.

“I hate dancing. Like all of our class boys are so childish. Wish I could dance with one of you guys” Hailey complained, looking at Arabella. Emily laughed and nodded.

 _Why did you look at me? Why did you set your eyes on me? Am I overthinking this again? Are you trying to tell me something? This is a fucking joke_ , Arabella thought.

 

_______

 

They went into the changing room 5. They were the only ones there. Hailey threw her hoodie off as soon as she got in.

 _What was I supposed to do here again? Something about dancing maybe… Jesus Christ, she’s beautiful. This is one of those moments when I’m proud of being gay. Feeling kinda bad for boys. They would have to do all sorts of sneaking to get a glimpse while I don’t have to do anything_ , Arabella thought.

Hailey looked at her back. She had a smirk on her face that said it all. _You caught me looking. This can’t be real_ , Arabella thought. She looked away in shame.

Arabella took off her shirt. She could almost feel someone’s gaze burning at her back. She ignored it and took off her pants. She put on yoga pants and a T-shirt. She turned around to look behind her. Hailey was wearing a white top and sweatpants that were way too big for her.

 _Am I going crazy, or is she blushing? Her cheeks are a little red… Ok Ara, stop imagining shit you know ain’t ever gonna be real. She likes boys. Definitely. Even if she liked girls, it wouldn’t be a mess like me_ , Arabella thought.

“I don’t wanna go!” Emily groaned. She let out a small yelp of frustration. Arabella had almost forgotten she was in the room.

“Let’s just get this over with. It’s only two hours, plus we can freely step on the boy’s toes” Hailey laughed maliciously.

They went to the dance room. They were the last ones to arrive. The boys were standing on the other side of the room and the girls were on the other. The two dance teachers greeted everyone. They were told to form two lines, the boys, and the girls.

Arabella was standing next to Hailey. They were on the very edge. Arabella felt the anxiety rise up on her chest again. Her hands fidgeted. She felt like her lungs were filling up with water and the only thing she could do was drown. She could see herself dancing with Julius. He could be standing too close, holding her too tight. His hands would be all over her and she would be miserable. She could see everyone looking at them like they were a couple. She would be fried into shame and dipped with a nice dose of humiliation with a neat little bow on top. Then she felt a soft hand on her own.

“It’s gonna be okay” Hailey whispered. Her eyes were full of concern. Arabella nodded stiffly. She wiped her eyes with her other hand to stop the tears from coming.

“Your dancing partner will be the one standing in front of you” The female teacher said.

“There is no one in front of us though” Hailey said. Her face was twisted into a hopeful smirk. She looked at Arabella and winked.

“Oh, it seems like we’re two boys short. You can dance... together” The female teacher said. She had paused for a moment. Arabelle realized that they were still holding hands.

Why was Hailey still holding her hand?

 _Arabella felt a wave of relief run through followed by fear. Oh my god. Are you serious? This day is a joke. I can’t do this shit. How am I supposed to stay sane being so close to her? She only likes me as a friend. She will see through my bullshit now. She will get creeped out and leave me. ‘leave me’? We’re not even together. What can be worse than having to choose between two evils? Shamefully dancing with a boy, or being constantly reminded that dreams never come true. I’m sorry for liking you,_ Arabella thought.

“Wanna dance with me, meine Bella?” Hailey asked. Arabella nodded with a red face.

The teachers showed them how to do the Waltz stance and how the basic steps work.

Hailey was holding her hand on the small of Arabella’s back. Arabella tried to avoid looking into her eyes. She could hear her heart beat like a thunderstorm. Her voice was caught in her throat and her eyes were starting to water again.

“What’s wrong?” Hailey asked, squeezing her hand.

“It’s kinda awkward” Arabella said without thinking.

“Ohh, Just remember in that biology class when I said orgasm instead of an organism? I couldn’t look the teacher in the eye for the rest of the year, so I think you’re doing just fine” Hailey giggled.

“Oh god, I remember. I don’t think it was that bad thought” Arabella laughed. ‘Not that bad’?! That shit was cringey as hell, Arabella thought.

The male teacher put on classical music from the radio.

“I genuinely like classical” Arabella said.

Hailey tried to hum along. Arabella was left speechless when she recognized the song. It was “Love dream” by Franz Liszt. It was Arabella’s favorite piece.

“Your voice is beautiful” Arabella said without any thought. She felt her heart jump into her throat. She froze up. Her legs stopped moving and her mind went blank. She stared at her feet, mortified of what she had just done.

She looked up, expecting the eyes of disgust. Hailey’s face was red. She was blushing. Arabella couldn’t deny it this time.

“I wasn’t expecting that, meine Bella~” Hailey said with a wide smile on her face. Her voice was soft and it trembled a little. It was pretty awkward for the rest of the class. Neither of them said anything.

Arabella felt terrified. She hadn’t confessed, however, she felt like she had overstepped. How could she ever look her in the eye after this?

They were silent for the rest of the class. From time to time Arabella could not keep herself from gazing into Hailey’s pink lips. Hailey continued humming along. The two of them slowly got closer and closer to each other and eventually, the female teacher came to tell them that they were standing too close. A few of the boys whistled at them. Arabella’s fury was like a Halestorm.

 

______

 

Arabella was quiet after the class. Hailey was also a little less chatty. Emily seemed to notice, but she didn’t say anything. She went to her English class alone. She was the only one who had chosen creative writing as one of her courses. Everything felt surreal after the sports class. The teacher was talking about what they were supposed to write about now.

“Write whatever you want to. I would love to hear something that is meaningful to you. For example, if you fought with your mother, write a story about a mother-daughter relationship. No boundaries, just let your imagination go free. The story doesn’t have to have the most interesting plot or the characters, as long as the meaning behind it is good” The teacher said.

Arabella shivered.

 _I love you, Hailey. These feelings won’t die. I’ve liked you for a year now. This is real. It’s not just a phase. I like girls, and I like you the most. Whatever happened in the sports class was real. Maybe you got just a little too friendly, but I felt something. It was real. I can’t keep holding my feelings a secret. Fuck anyone who thinks this is wrong. This will drive me insane if I don’t do anything about it. Maybe this will destroy our friendship and maybe I will never be able to hear your laughter, but I have to do this,_ Arabella thought with a smile on her face. All of her doubts left her all at once.

In the end, Arabella wrote a short love story of a girl who fell in love with another girl. The teacher had asked the students to give a reason for why they wrote the story and what their message was supposed to be. Arabella wrote about how she wished that more people would find the courage to speak their feelings out loud.

The teacher texted Arabella that evening and told her that it was a wonderful story and asked permission to read it to the class next Monday. Arabella accepted.

 

______

 

Arabella sent a message to Hailey and asked to meet her behind the sports hall. Her heart was pounding out of her chest as she sent the text. She was standing on an atomic bomb, waiting for it to explode. It would explode today. As the message was sent, Arabella hugged her phone. _Why should I keep on waiting? I will die one day. I’d rather be alone but honest than together but a liar. I will regret this, but this is the only right thing to do. I am doing the right thing_ , she tried to convince herself, but the doubt was still there.

_What if this will actually ruin us? What if she won’t show up at all? What if she will laugh at me? What if… God, I have to stop. I write a love story about courage, and I can’t even stay calm when I’m actually about to confess for real. How fucking ridiculous._

She saw Hailey walking towards her. Every step she took felt like the black death was creeping closer. Breathing was suddenly hard. _Oh Jesus, maybe I should have planned this out more. Maybe I should have brushed my hair. Maybe a note would have been better. Maybe I shouldn’t be here at all. Why did I even get out of the bed this morning?_

“What did you wanna talk about?” Hailey asked. Her voice was shakier than usual.

“I fully understand if you will hate me after this. It’s okay. This might be the biggest mistake I will ever make, but I have to” Arabella started. _Ok, that came out far more dramatic than it was meant to. Was planning for it to be reassuring, now she’s terrified. Fuck,_ Arabella thought. She mentally slapped herself.

Hailey’s face screamed worry. _Oh Jesus, can you please smile. I was trying to make this cute and now I’ve only made you scared._

“I like girls...” Arabella said. She paused. _I knew this was going to be hard but I can’t seem to just say it. Oh God, what am I going to do? I can’t pussy out now!_

“That all? Dude, so do I!” Hailey laughed.

Arabella paused for a long second. _Jesus Christ, I did not know that. How the Hell did I not know that? She literally has a picture of Ruby Rose as hell phone’s wallpaper. Good fucking job Ara, you really nailed this one_ , Arabella thought.

Then she fell back into reality. She could laugh and leave it all at that. She could laugh and walk away. She didn’t have to tell Hailey about the crush as well since this already went too well. She could just walk away and be happy with things as they are.

 _Maybe I’ve always known, but just denied it as wishful thinking... Will I tell her or no? Two fucking big bombs in one day… Is it worth it? Crushes go away. This will just go away. That’s what you told yourself seven months ago, you absolute buffoon. You are literally on the verge of isolating yourself from here because of this. If you two are going your separate ways, it better_ have _a good fucking reason. Tell her now, you little fucking pussy,_ Arabella tried to pep talk herself. It worked a little, but she was still scared shitless.

She felt like her chest was being pushed together and she was choking to death. Her voice felt worn and stuck in her throat.

 _God probably would not hear the prayer of a gay woman, at least that’s what my mother keeps on saying. I want to believe that you are full of love rather than hatred. You created me this way, so why wouldn’t you have me? Dear lord, please hear my prayer. Let this end up okay. I do not wish to lose Hailey. I love her and I don’t want to scare her away. Please don’t let this ruin us,_ Arabella prayed.

She silently cursed herself. She was an idiot. No question about it. She was an absolute moron who was destined to embarrass herself. She would wind up alone at some solitary house in the middle of nowhere, no family to call and no one to keep her bed warm. At least she would die honest.

She opened her mouth to speak. Her voice came out weak, quiet and fast like she almost tried to make it so that Hailey wouldn’t hear it.

“So… I’m scared. I’m so fucking terrified. I found myself liking this one person about a year ago. She is the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. She is hilarious and her voice is beautiful. Above all, she knows how to hum my favorite classical love song. She is an amazing dancer. She looks absolutely gorgeous even when she dresses up like a homeless-”

“I like you too” Hailey interrupted her. She had a huge smile on her face.

Arabella stood there, silent and mouth wide open. She let out a small whimper. She couldn’t believe what she just heard. Tears started streaming down her face. Hailey wrapped her hands around her tightly.

They stood there, hugging in silence. The only sound that could be heard was the singing of birds and their heavy breathing. Arabella’s arms were trembling. She couldn’t think of anything else but Hailey’s words.

 

‘I like you too’

‘I like you too’

‘I like you too’

‘I like you too’

‘I like you too’

 

Arabella kept repeating it to herself like a mantra. “In fact, You have the honor of being my first real girl crush. Feel free to boast about making me a total fucking homo” Hailey said. She might have been trying to be humorous but her voice was shaking.

“Holy fuck” Was all that Arabella could bring herself to say. The voice that came out didn’t sound like it belonged to her.

“Holy fuck, indeed” Hailey agreed.

Arabella felt dizzy. Everything felt surreal. Her hands didn’t feel like they belonged to her and she couldn’t trust her own legs to keep her up. She didn’t even notice the tears on her face at first.

“First time I’ve cried from just being happy” She said absentmindedly.

Maybe I’m dreaming. I mean. This ain’t real. No fucking way. Like. No. Don’t believe it. Any second now I will realize that this was just a dream. Gonna wake up, she thought.

“Holy fucking Christ, lemme get myself together for a while. I was actually making up a cheesy speech for you a while back. Imma give you to note tomorrow” Hailey said as she pulled away. She looked at the ground for a while. Arabella could see the tears on her cheeks.

“I loved dancing with you. I love reading your stories. I’ve actually been planning to confess to you for a while now. Guess I was never the braver one. I’ve spent countless hours wondering if all of the small hints you’ve given me were truly real. Hell, I’ve even tried not-so-obviously to flirt with you” Hailey said.

“I’ve noticed. Never really caught onto it though. I was a dumb fuck. This entire damn day you’ve been all over the place and I just happily denied everything” Arabella laughed.

She felt like a giant weight was lifted off from her chest like she could breathe again. Her heart was hammering against her chest. Her cheeks were burning. The atom bomb had exploded, but it did not leave cities in despair.

**Maybe God truly loves me after all...**

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to share your own thoughts on this. I was kinda meta here and there and I hope it didn't break the story too much.


End file.
